The jail where Cambridge criminals are sent is more dangerous than in the last three years because of drugs and violence, a report found.

Peterborough men’s prison holds 800 prisoners and is run by Sodexo but has now been given the second lowest assessment in HMI Prisons' 'healthy prison test'.

It is on the same site as a female prison and the two establishments share a management team. Peter Clarke, HM Chief Inspector of Prisons, said there was much to commend in the men’s jail when inspectors visited in July 2018.

Read More

He added: “However, the simple fact was that while Peterborough was a safe prison in 2015 (the previous inspection), our judgement on this occasion was that safety had declined to such an extent that we had no choice other than to reduce our assessment in this area by two levels, to ‘not sufficiently good’.

”That is the second lowest assessment in HMI Prisons’ “healthy prison tests.”

“In common with many other prisons, Peterborough has suffered the ravages of the epidemic of drugs – especially new psychoactive substances (NPS) – that have flowed into them in recent years and the debt, bullying and violence they cause."

Over 50 per cent of prisoners told inspectors it was easy to get hold of illicit drugs, and more than one in five had acquired a drug habit since entering the jail.

Read More

As a result, levels of violence had doubled since the last inspection. Unsurprisingly, 55 per cent of prisoners had felt unsafe since coming into the prison and 20 per cent felt unsafe at the time of the inspection.

Working to reduce drugs and violence

Inspectors noted, however, a determined attempt by the jail to get to grips with the drugs and violence. Encouragingly, in the three months leading up to the inspection, there had been a reduction in levels of violence.

Aside from the violence, and the need to strengthen the governance and clinical oversight of health care, most of the functions that a prison must perform were being delivered well. Dedicated staff, many new and inexperienced, worked hard in very difficult circumstances.

It was refreshing, Mr Clarke said, to see a local prison where time out of cell was good for most prisoners and where there were activity places for 80 per cent of the population. In rehabilitation and release planning, the prison was judged to be ‘good’, the highest assessment.

Mr Clarke said: "HMP Peterborough still had much work to do to reduce the violence that had flowed from the influx of drugs into the establishment. Nevertheless, at the time of this inspection the signs were promising that further progress could be made.

"It is essential that the prison is restored to being a safe place, so that all the good work that was being delivered in so many areas is not put in jeopardy.”

Read More

Michael Spurr, Chief Executive of Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service, said: " HMP Peterborough continues to provide a positive regime with good levels of purposeful activity and an effective resettlement scheme to reduce reoffending.

"As with other prisons across the estate, Peterborough has faced a rise in the illicit supply of drugs and a population more prone to violence – tackling this is a priority and progress is being made. The prison’s Director will use the report’s recommendations to support further improvement.”

An HMP Peterborough spokesperson said: “We welcome the Chief Inspector’s report and are pleased that the excellent work undertaken by the Peterborough team has been recognised, especially around resettlement and purposeful activity, which are so important to the rehabilitation of offenders.

“HMP Peterborough is one of the most complex prisons in the country, with a challenging population. The report rightly highlights the issues of drugs and violence and recognises that these are issues faced by most prisons. In this context, the report remarks positively on the determined and energetic approaches being taken to tackling these issues, which have seen a reduction in levels of violence. This progress has continued to improve, but will remain, alongside healthcare provision, as a matter of the highest priority.”